US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday pushed back against Australian demands for an end to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s prosecution, saying the Australian citizen was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in publishing a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago. Australia’s centre-left Labor Party government has been arguing since winning the elections last year that the United States should end its pursuit of the 52-year-old, who has spent four years in a British prison fighting extradition to the United States. Mr Assange’s freedom is widely seen as a test of Australia’s leverage with President Joe Biden’s administration. Mr Blinken confirmed on Saturday that Mr Assange had been discussed in annual talks with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Brisbane, Australia. “I understand the concerns and views of Australians. I think it’s very important that our friends here understand our concerns about this matter,” Mr Blinken told reporters. “Mr Assange was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country,” he added. Ms Wong said Mr Assange’s prosecution had “dragged for too long” and that Australia wanted the charges “brought to a conclusion.” Australia remains ambiguous about whether the United States should drop the prosecution or strike a plea bargain. Mr Assange faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic and military documents in 2010. American prosecutors allege he helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk. Australia argues there is a “disconnect” between the US treatment of Mr Assange and Ms Manning. Then-US President Barack Obama commuted Ms Manning’s 35-year sentence to seven years, which allowed her release in 2017. Read More Pope meets with wife and family of Julian Assange, who says pontiff 'concerned' by his suffering Julian Assange’s wife says ‘it is now or never’ at US extradition protest Australian prime minister says he is working effectively to free WikiLeaks founder

Seahawks undrafted rookie Jake Bobo just made the catch of the year.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 3, 2023--

Texas governor Greg Abbott is facing ridicule after he fell for a fake story on a satirical website that claimed country music star Garth Brooks had been booed off a stage for refusing to ban Bud Light. Mr Abbott shared a link to the parody site The Dunning-Kruger Times on his official Twitter account on Sunday that claimed Brooks had been targeted at the 123rd Annual Texas Country Jamboree in Hambriston after calling his conservative fans “a**holes”. “Go woke. Go broke,” Mr Abbott tweeted. “Good job, Texas.” There was just one problem: the jamboree didn’t exist, and neither did the city of Hambriston. The Dunning-Kruger Times, named after a cognitive effect where people with low expertise or ability overestimate their knowledge, labels itself as a “network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery”. “Everything on this website is fiction,” the site explains. The purported author of the story, headlined Garth Brooks Booed Off Stage at 123rd Annual Texas Country Jamboree, was listed as “patriot” Flagg Eagleton. Mr Abbott deleted the tweet without an explanation or apology, but it was preserved and roundly criticised on Twitter. “Gov Abbott just accidentally posted a satire article because he wants to hate on queer Texans and Garth Brooks so bad,” wrote Democratic Congressman Greg Casar. “The Texas Country Jamboree doesn’t exist. Hambriston, Texas is not real. And the Governor is not fit to tweet, much less govern,” he added. Teacher Judy Hockenbrough wrote that “poor Greg Abbott got caught in his lies this time”. “There are a couple of big problems with Abbott’s tweet: The city of Hambriston doesn’t exist and the article is completely fake. Abbott fails Texas everyday.” Mr Abbott frequently weighs in on culture war issues on social media, last week urging warring tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to go through with their much-hyped MMA bout. He has also signed into law some of the country’s most punitive anti-LGBT+ legislation. Texas is facing crippling power outages amid an unprecedented heat wave. Meanwhile, Brooks, who has sold more than 157 million albums, has yet to respond publicly to the kerfuffle. In 2022, Brooks performed two sold-out concerts in Texas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington and Houston’s NRG Stadium to a combined audience of about 147,000 fans. Read More Trump news – live: Supreme Court dismisses Democratic lawsuit over Trump hotel documents Fox News choose Jesse Watters to replace Tucker Carlson in primetime shakeup Texas Gov Greg Abbott bizarrely weighs in on Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s cage fight GOP state legislatures seek greater control over state and local election offices Texas gov Greg Abbott reacts to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s cage fight Why are the Texas Rangers the only MLB team without a Pride Night?

ZURICH UBS will not need to tap the Swiss government's 9 billion Swiss franc ($10.27 billion) backstop agreed

No. 19 Notre Dame tries to avenge last home season’s loss to Stanford and regain the Legends Trophy when the Fighting Irish finish the regular season against the Cardinal

Manchester United midfielder Fred has completed his transfer to Fenerbahce. United announced a deal had been agreed between the two clubs on Friday and the Brazil international travelled to Turkey on Saturday for a medical and to discuss terms. Both happened without an issue, so Fred heads to Istanbul in a move worth an initial 10million euros (£8.6m) rising to a possible 15m euros (£12.9m). The 30-year-old, who moved to Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 and had made 213 appearances for the club, had already said his goodbyes on social media. He said on Saturday: “Thanks for everything, Manchester United Football Club. “Today ends one of the most beautiful stages of my career. I lived the dream of wearing the shirt of one of the biggest clubs in the world. “Going through ups and downs, I leave with the conviction that I always gave my best during all training sessions and games. “It was five years of a true dream for me and my family. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity. Forever a Red!” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

In Wha Kim spends her lunch break introducing Peterborough pupils to Korean language and culture.

Joe Burrow knew there was risk he could aggravate his calf injury, but he went out and played anyway

Paige Spiranac highlighted gender bias and hypocrisy in the golf industry, emphasizing the differences she experiences compared to her male peers

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey remained defiant Monday after being indicted on bribery charges at the end of last week, calling the legal battle ahead his "biggest fight yet," and said that he believes he will be exonerated.

Saudi club Al Ettifaq has apologised to Liverpool fans for printing EFC on the back of Jordan Henderson’s shirt in a tongue-in-cheek promotional post. Al Ettifaq unveiled Henderson’s new shirt for the season, which also includes a notable number change, with the player taking the number 10 shirt rather than the number 14 that he wore at Anfield. After the unveiling, Al Ettifaq were quick to 'apologise' for the fact that the club’s EFC abbreviation bears a striking resemblance to that of Liverpool’s rivals, Everton. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Sorry to all the Liverpool Football Club fans for putting E.F.C on Hendo’s back. At least it’s not blue,” the club said in a statement. They then added: “Better get that number 10 kit before it runs out.” Al Ettifaq will have likely boosted their fanbase this summer, after poaching Henderson from Liverpool and bringing in Reds’ legend Steven Gerrard as their new manager. Henderson has been made captain of the Saudi side, in a bid to replicate the success Liverpool enjoyed with Henderson as the leader of its team. During his 10 years with Liverpool, Henderson won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League, as well as two League Cups, a Club World Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and a Community Shield. It comes after a former Premier League star questioned whether Henderson's support for LGBT+ rights was “genuine” after he left Liverpool for Saudi Arabia. Same-sex relationships are illegal in Saudi Arabia, while the gender expression of trans people is also criminalised. Sentences include a maximum penalty of death. Thomas Hitzlsperger, the highest profile professional footballer to come out as gay in 2013, expressed his disappointment at Henderson’s decision to join Al Ettifaq in a £12m deal. He said: “So Jordan Henderson finally gets his move to Saudi Arabia. Fair play to him, he can play wherever he wants to play. “Curious to know though how the new brand JH will look like. The old one is dead! I did believe for a while that his support for the LGBT+ community would be genuine. Silly me…” Henderson had gained a reputation for being an ally of the LGBT+ community after putting out various statements condemning homophobia in recent years. Meanwhile, one Twitter user responded to the most recent post with a simple: “Whattifaq is he doing?” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.